A Second Chance
by KingBlack
Summary: Merlin and Morgana, A Thousand Years Later. Will they be allies or will they remain bitter enemies.


As soon as he saw her, he could tell that she remembered. She was seated at the top of the stone steps that led to the museum, framed on either side by two gigantic stone columns. Her eyes had a faraway look to it until she sensed his presence, then they zoomed in on him. He was dressed in dark slacks and blazers with a white turtleneck underneath it to ward off the cold air of late February. His grip on the flowers tightened as she stood.

"You poisoned me" She said. Her voice carried by the soft breeze down to him. He suddenly realized that the city square, a usually lively place was empty. Not even the pigeons that constantly plagued his walks were present. That could only mean one thing, she had set up wards.

"Shit" He muttered to himself but she heard him. Her face contorted from its blank mask into a sneer.

"That's all you have to say for yourself?" She said, her voice deceptively low. "You poisoned me and betrayed me and all you can say is...is shit. Are you joking with me?"

He had to calm her down. An angry Morgana was never a good thing in any century.

"Morgana. Just calm down" Merlin began and immediately realized his folly. You must never tell an angry woman to calm down. Her eyes glowed gold and the wind stopped. Out of nowhere a flock of screaming ravens materialized and rushed at him.

He **shifted**, his mundane clothes giving way to his crimson mage attire. With a wave of his palm, the ravens disappeared but Morgana was nowhere to be found. He cursed and whirled around, a long sword materializing in his hands. There was a loud ringing sound as his steel met hers. Her eyes eyes were glowing in anger as she glared at him.

"Allow me to explain myself." He said trying to keep her calm.

"What is there to explain? You poisoned me and then you killed me" She roared as they separated. "And as though that was not enough, you ressurect me for some sick fancy, wiping my memories and then you use me"

"I did not resurrect you" Merlin said. "I don't know how you're still alive. Until three months ago, I had thought you dead for over a thousand years."

She was quiet as she looked at him. The heat in her eyes never lessening but at least she had calmed down. He took his chance to explain.

"I know you remember Camelot. After Arthur died by Modred's hand. I know you remember. I killed you and I swear to you, it has haunted me since that day. When I saw you once more. I saw a chance to correct my mistake. To do you right. But you had no memory of yourself." She lowered her arm. "You reminded me of the Morgana I met in my early days in Camelot. The Morgana that would sacrifice anything for a friend. The Morgana that loved. The Morgana I fell in love with and I could not help falling in love with you again."

She was silent. He was silent. He prayed to every deity he knew that he had somehow managed to reach her. Unfortunately, they seemed to be on vacation. She **shifted, **her mundane clothes turning into her signature black dress.

"The same Morgana that you poisoned" She said.

He heard a screech behind him but he did not bother to turn. He did not need to. After a thousand years he had become so adept at magic that he barely needed a thought to bend nature to his will. The air behind him rippled and became as dense as steel. The gargoyle that Morgana had animated crashed harmlessly into tha air wall and crumbled to dust.

"You were going to let the entire Camelot die. I had a choice. Love or Duty. A wise man once said that love is the death of duty as duty is the death of love. I chose my duty to Arthur at the detriment of my love for you. I chose my duty so that my people would be able to use magic without fear of their heads on a spike." Merlin explained taking a step forward. "You, on the other hand chose the path of destruction. You placed a tag on every magic user. That all we could ever be was evil"

"You betrayed your people. Did you ever think for a minute that staying loyally by Arthur's side protecting him would ever work?" Morgana sneered. "You were naive. We needed to gather arms. We needed to fight back. That is what I did. I fought back against Uther's tyranny"

"And became a greater tyrant than Uther ever was." Merlin said. " You spread death and destruction to every corner of the known world in your quest for "equality". You became what Morgause wanted. The very instrument of revenge that she needed."

With a twitch of her finger, Morgana conjured sharpened obsidian blades that rushed at Merlin. A thousand years had however turned Merlin from the scrawny manservant to a hardened warrior. He dodged every blade with almost supernatural agility and reflexes. He returned her attack with a conjured hole that grew out of the ground behind her. Before it was done forming, she decimated it with a hit and conjured lightning between her fingers which she flung at him in the form of a bolt.

With nary a thought, Merlin caught the attack and condensed it into a ball of energy which he held between his palm.

"If it's a fight you want. It's a fight you'll get"

He slammed the ball of energy into the ground and the ground cracked, fissures erupting all around, out of which aged vines grew out almost sentient in their movement.

Morgana smirked letting loose her aura, burning any vine that dared to come close to her.

**Ten minutes later**

The Ternopil city square was once a peaceful place where men and women and children and pigeons from every spheres of life came to interract. However like the old African proverb says "when two elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers". The Ternopil City Square looked like more like a war zone when Merlin and Morgana were finally done with their battle.

Merlin's mage attire had been torn in different places and his face was bruised. His sleeves were burnt off, he was sporting blisters on his forearm and his hair was caked in blood and mud. However he stood victorious over Morgana, his sword held over her. She looked like she had been through hell and survived but the defiance in her eyes were still there.

"This scene seems just about familiar" Morgana spat, her lips curved up in a smirk. "Just like when you killed me the first time. Go ahead then. Kill me. Do it again. "

Merlin stepped back from her. His sword disappearing.

"I've lived for a thousand years Morgana. Enough lifetimes that I've gained some measure of wisdom" Merlin said. "If I could turn back the hands of time, I could have done better. Maybe I would not have listened to Gaius. I would have helped you from the very start. Maybe then Morgause offer would not have been so alluring. Maybe we could have built Albion's future together."

"Morgause was my sister. She was family. She did not poison me. She did not leave me to think I was running mad when I learnt of my magic. She did not betray me and she most definitely did not kill me"

"Your family was Arthur, your brother that would have done anything for you. Your family was Guinevere a girl that was ridiculously loyal to you. They were your family"

" And you? " She asked, curious.

"Maybe not me. I poisoned you after all. I'm sorry for that" Merlin said his countenance failing. "I let Kilgarrah's talk of destiny poison my mind. I mean here I am a thousand years later and Arthur is still nowhere to be found" He laughed bitterly.

"Arthur is dead" Morgana said firmly, some remorse colored her tone. "He is not coming back"

"You came back"

" I was a Priestess of the Old Religion"

He was quiet as he surveyed their surrounding seeming accepting the fact. Arthur was not coming back. It was time to move on. He sighed and materialized his staff in his hands. He slammed it into the ground and observed sadly as Morgana flinched.

"I won't hurt you" Merlin said. "Not again"

There was a loud gong sound as the square seemed to repair itself. Fissures sealing up and park benches returning to their position.

"Maybe" Morgana said standing up, her tattered gown **shifting** back to her normal mundane jeans and leather jacket combo. "Just maybe it's time to leave the past in the past. Let us leave the dark days behind us"

Merlin smiled** shifting. "**Trust me. I've seen darker days. I've seen men raze cities to the ground, I've seen monsters swallow the sun. And even nowadays, Men in iron fly across the skies and cities drop to the ground. But yes, let us bury the hatchet"

The two most powerful mages in history shook hands in agreement.

"So I'm guessing that date is off"

"Most definitely" Morgana replied with a smirk.


End file.
